Portable blower/vacs are well known lawn and garden implements which are used for blowing or picking up various debris, such as leaves, grass clippings, etc. A typical blower/vac of this type comprises a housing that encloses an electric motor having a rotatable shaft. A fan is connected to the shaft of the motor and rotates when the motor is driven. As the fan rotates, air is drawn in through a fan inlet on the housing and is ejected from a fan outlet on the housing. A handle is provided on the housing to allow a user to grip and hold the blower/vac during use.
The blower/vac can be operated in both a blowing mode and a vacuum mode. In the blowing mode, a blower tube is coupled to the fan outlet to direct the air stream being ejected from the fan outlet in a desired direction, such as against the ground to blow leaves off a sidewalk or the like. In the vacuum mode, a vacuum tube is coupled to the fan inlet. When the vacuum tube is positioned adjacent the ground, the vacuum tube will suck or pick up leaves or other debris and the blower/vac will then eject such debris through the fan outlet.
In known blower/vacs operating in the vacuum mode, a small debris collection bag may be coupled directly to the fan outlet of the blower/vac. This collection bag typically has a strap or sling to hang the collection bag from the body of the user as the user operates the blower/vac. The debris being ejected from the fan outlet of the blower/vac is deposited in the collection bag. When the collection bag is full, the user unslings the collection bag from the user's body, disconnects the collection bag from the fan outlet, unzips a zipper provided in the bag, and then dumps the debris out of the bag into a trash can, plastic disposable trash bag or compost pile. The user can then close the collection bag and again sling the collection bag about the user's body to continue picking up and collecting debris.
This type of collection bag for a blower/vac is effective but has some disadvantages. Since the bag is carried on the user's body, it is necessarily somewhat limited in size. Thus, it must frequently be emptied when a lot of debris is being quickly picked up by the blower/vac. The need to frequently empty such a relatively small collection bag can be an annoyance.
Moreover, because the typical collection bag is slung from the user's body, the weight of the collection bag as it fills as well as dust emitted from the debris being collected by the collection bag can be bothersome to some users. In addition, the collection bag can also restrict the movement of the user or get in the way of the user as the user operates the blower/vac. This is also bothersome to some users. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a debris collection system that can efficiently collect larger quantities of debris and that will be easy to use without encumbering movement of the user's body.